Film Research #3 - Beverly Hills Cop
Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 American, Action, Comedy film focused on a street-smart Detroit cop finding the murderer of his best friend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9NPblHJ-pk
The first 2 minutes or so off the film focus on setting an environment, focusing on the black groups of 'Detroit' as seen by a sign in the first scene or two, showing the general public go about their average day unknowing of the crime that goes on behind their backs. It goes on to show other races briefly showing the distribution of race in Detroit, which are mainly black people. I have decided to only focus on this scene briefly as it does not provide much insight to the typical conventions of comedy cop films and is therefore pointless for me to focus on, however
During these scene the song 'The beat goes on' is playing which describes the fact that no matter what happens in a city the public or 'the beat' will keep moving and going about their day.
At 2:05 the song starts to fade out as a conversation between two white men begin. The scene starts with a high angle shot of a lorry with a man walking up the side of the lorry. The editors then use a straight edit to transition from this high shot to a long shot of the man walking to the back of the lorry and climbing inside. Another straight edit is used to view inside the lorry to show the two men talking. It cuts to a black man sat at the back of the lorry, watching the conversation about how the contents of the lorry 'is worth a fortune'. He then jumps up at this and starts pressuring the men for answers saying 'ive been here too long' which tells the audience that he is the owner of the lorry and therefore attempting to sell it and it's questionable contents to these men. He repeats the phrase 'I'm a business man' multiple times in the scene and this has the effect of emphasizing his importance to the men, bringing attention to the fact that he isn't a thug and just wants to do business. When he gets up one of the white men asks for a minute, meaning he wants to think this over but the black man doesn't give this to him, instead opening up a box to find a pack of cigarettes with a federal tax stamp, this quick flash of information will shock the viewers as well as the men, causing them to think on their feet and quickly which causes irrational decisions which turn in the black man's favor, in terms of the audience, this tells us that this is most likely not a legal deal, the quality of the product and therefore the quality of the service the black man provides is high maybe hinting towards him not being your average supplier. When describing these cigarettes he says 'you can't get no cleaner than this' because he wants to win them over, convince them that this is a great deal for what they are getting, in other words trying to get them to buy the truck. Using context we know that the black man is an undercover cop, so he is trying to convince them to buy the truck so he has evidence he can prosecute them with. Because this is a comedy cop film he persuades them with quick, fast paced words that attempt to distract them from the fact of the amount they are paying but rather what they are paying for, going as far to tell them his brand are 'Popular with the children' using them to his advantage as this tells the men they can shift the product. Overall, the black man's attire shows him to be a laid back guy, wanting to hide nothing due to the lack of a jacket and supports the stereotypes that black american men often wear rough clothing. The two men are in jackets and wearing mostly black to enforce that they are the bad guys and their jackets are used to show their concealment, the fact they act in the shadows. The body language of the black man provides confidence as he is not afraid to approach these men and get up in their faces.
After the money has been exchanged the black man has an issue, there is a lack of money. Now in context we know that the cop is trying to arrest them so he needs a minimum amount but until we know this it looks as the black man just doesn't want to be ripped off. The money is a symbolic prop, a passing of ownership of one item in return for the money and is an important factor in the scene, we know this as it is kept in center shot a lot of the time proving it's importance as the center is what the audience will focus on. The camera shot here is effective as it easily allows for both men to be in shot as they discuss this issue. This two-shot is often used in films like this where the conversation does not provide any dynamic parts or facial reactions to focus on so therefore a shot-reverse shot would be pointless and also allows for their bodies and arms to be seen which in a cop film is crucial as their hands and bodies can be vital to show their reactions to their conversation partner and also allows us to see any physical contact between the two. We can see through their body language how they are both feeling about this, the white man is using his arms while talking, pushing himself into the black mans space while he attempts to convince him to take the money, the movement into his space is an attempt to get him to back down and is common in this genre as the cops/villains often want to intimidate their opposition without harming them and getting close provides a feeling of oppression, however the black man stands firm with his arms to his sides, demonstrating that he is irritated and annoyed by this, his hand gestures are at a minimum unlike before meaning he is serious about not wanting to be ripped off, he also starts to talk less and slightly slower emphasizing this serious change in nature. Having his hands to his sides and close to his body shows him going into defense, feeling slightly threatened by the white man's advances. During this conversation the black man says that he 'Needs' $5000, eluding to the fact he needs it to bust them but to the audience it means that he wont accept lower and has something important he needs to pay for and near the end of the conversation the white man says 'Your not dealing with johnny banadas' and 'Come on don't be unreasonable' which tells us he is getting desperate, that he needs this deal to go off and either, his higher ups did give him the wrong amount or he is trying to rip him off. This desperate attempt to get him to take the money is also typical of the genre as the dealer wants to do quick smooth deals to avoid complications and so they can make a quick profit, this could be used in my opening to make my antagonist quick and invasive of people's space to display this urgent nature.
Their positioning allows for the police vehicle to be seen clearly going past the street but backing up and turning onto the street as the two men start to argue after the black man treats the other like an idiot, telling him to 'Read his lips' as he says 'it slowly' showing the black man is getting irritated and as a convention of cop films when the cop thinks of the suspect as an idiot they will talk slowly so they can understand. To interrupt the men the police car turns on its siren for a brief second, causing the men to turn around as the white one takes his money back from the black man clearly showing that this is a dodgy deal and doesn't want to get caught as can be seen from him being quick to jump off the back. When the police ask the black man whats going on he becomes very loud and quick, showing he is lying and trying to cover it up by distracting them with loud noises and large gestures. Suspects often become loud when questioned about crimes they have committed so this falls inline with other films. The left side cop then asks if he recognizes the black man from somewhere, which later on we find out that he is a fellow cop, but the black man doesn't want to be busted so quickly come back with an excuse as to why he wouldn't. When the other cop asks for ID the black man glances at the white man and holds on, with this it tells the audience that he is preparing for a sudden movement as he holds on tight to the chains, foreshadowing the chase seen that is about to happen. Then soon after the white man runs and tells the driver to 'get outta here' and a chase scene begins. We know its a chase seen as music begins playing with a fast beat and the driver suddenly starts to drive off.
This chase scene is a typical one, with one car driving crazily to get away from the cops, racking up tons of damage in their careless attempt to escape. The scene cuts often which provides suspense and action, keeping the audience alert to new areas and constantly changing, quickening the pace of the film to fit the chase. Some long shots are used to show the scale of the truck to the chasing police cars, which looks massive compared. They are also used to display the speed of the truck, especially when its to the side and the camera is moving in line with the truck.
When the camera goes to focus on the driver or the black man the camera is shaky, displaying the bumpiness and carefree nature of the chase. It could also be interpreted as displaying the low quality of roads because they are in a dodgy part of town which the local government see no point in maintaining due to the people who live there and the already low income which we know from the intro where it showed roughly dressed people and badly maintained houses. The shaky camera also represents action, keeping it moving just as the truck is and makes sure the shot doesn't get stale. It also displays the nerves of the driver as often when we get nervous we shake.
The chase with the driver getting scared as he sees a road block. Out of desperation her turns onto a field but hits a number of cars which is ironic as before cars weren't able to stop him. The back truck also gets detached symbolizing the fact that the black man and the driver are not connected. The driver is shown quickly getting out, being clumsy in his escape. This shows his desperation to get away as he doesn't care which way he goes and if hes going to fall over or not. To end off the opening the black man is surrounded by police at gunpoint when, what we can assume is a high ranking officer due to him being at the front, says "we should have known it was you" symbolizing the fact he recognized him and proving what ive said, that he is related to the police force.
Overall, Beverly Hills Cop has shown me that the stereotype of black people as the upfront issue, in this case the dealer, does not always mean they are the bad guy and focuses on challenging that stereotype. It has also shown me that openings can sometimes focus on showing the surrounding area in an attempt to generalise the area and justify it's inhabitants actions after showing the audience where they live, I could use this to show my audience where my opening takes place and to justify who and what my characters are doing there and what relation they have to the setting.
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